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How to enable data scientists without running up costs
The growth of AI has changed the roles of data scientists, who once worked primarily with neat rows and columns of structured data to create predictive analytics. Today’s data scientists feed raw text, images, video, and audio into intelligent systems and large language models (LLMs) that employ a fundamentally different approach to generating business insights.
Data scientists face mounting pressure to deliver results at the breakneck pace of the AI industry, while working with increasingly complex tools and datasets. The challenge: How do organizations enable their data science teams to innovate rapidly without seeing costs spiral out of control? With growing expenses for AI-centric data science — including new tools, on-prem hardware, and significant compute time — CIOs need ways to balance increasing costs with the need for increased analytical output.
There are conceptual frameworks that can help.
The efficiency of choice
The evolution of data science demands a diverse toolkit. But what might seem like complexity is an opportunity for optimization. Different types of analysis demand different approaches: SQL for some tasks, Python for others, and specialized AI frameworks for still others. Forward-thinking organizations are finding that this diversity of tools isn’t a burden but rather a powerful advantage to leverage.
In addition to providing the potential for varied techniques leading to optimal outputs (a.k.a., using the right tool for the job), this flexible approach can reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to forcing all workloads through a single processing engine or methodology. This approach also helps forestall common TCO pitfalls, such as shadow IT brought in when the unified platform lacks specific capabilities, and the cost of unmanaged or over-provisioned compute resources sitting idle.
Success with this approach requires both technical readiness and thoughtful governance. On the technical side, modern “serverless” platforms can automatically scale computing resources to match exact workload demands, eliminating costly idle capacity while ensuring performance when needed. Infrastructure must be able to handle significant, fluctuating spikes in AI compute demand without manual intervention or runaway costs. Analytics teams need unified billing and resource management to maintain clear visibility into usage patterns.
The complete cost equation extends beyond infrastructure expenses. Developer productivity — how quickly teams can move from idea to implementation — can have a much greater impact on TCO than raw compute costs.
The business impact of providing developers with flexibility can be substantial: one major retailer found that optimizing a single recommendation algorithm added millions of dollars in weekly revenue by better matching products to customer interests.
Building a sustainable data strategy
When building a data strategy for the AI era, organizations must strike a balance between the benefits of integrated tooling and the need to adapt to rapid change. While tightly coupled solutions might offer immediate convenience, they create dependencies on specific technologies that may become outdated. Successful operations adopt modular approaches that preserve flexibility as the technology landscape evolves.
The most effective organizations establish clear boundaries around security, compliance, and deployment standards, while allowing teams significant autonomy within those guardrails. This balanced approach helps maintain necessary controls while preserving the agility that data science teams need to innovate effectively.
This approach has tradeoffs. Embracing a variety of cutting-edge tools can spark innovation, but it also raises security risks and complicates integration. Giving teams wider access to data speeds up discovery, but it can weaken governance. However, enforcing strict centralized standards can stifle creativity and slow projects down.
The key is establishing clear policies around data access, model validation, and deployment processes that ensure outputs remain traceable and explainable, particularly crucial with AI systems. When data scientists can rapidly prototype and deploy solutions using familiar tools within this governed environment, they spend more time generating insights and less time managing infrastructure.
The path forward
CIOs who want to harness AI in their data science teams must juggle their demands while keeping long-term goals in sight. Start by pinpointing exactly how your teams spend their time today; this insight will guide your next moves. If data scientists are spending excessive hours locating and preparing data rather than building models and generating insights, that’s often a clear signal that your data architecture needs attention before scaling AI initiatives.
Most importantly, measure success through business outcomes, not just technical metrics. Organizations that adopt this strategic view, building flexible foundations while maintaining appropriate governance, position themselves to leverage data science capabilities into a sustainable competitive advantage.
Unlock greater value from your data by empowering data scientists with the best tools. Learn more here.
